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BIO
Adriana Trigiani is an award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker. The author of the bestselling Big Stone Gap trilogy, the New York Times bestselling novels LUCIA, LUCIA and THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME, and co-author of the cookbook COOKING WITH MY SISTERS, Trigiani has written the screenplay for the movie Big Stone Gap, which she will also direct. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
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INTERVIEW
 June 24, 2005
Bookreporter.com Co-Founder Carol Fitzgerald interviewed Adriana Trigiani, the New York Times bestselling author of the Big Stone Gap trilogy and LUCIA, LUCIA. Trigiani talks about the nuanced elements that make up her latest novel ROCOCO, such as her love of colorful names, her affinity for old churches, and her passion for design. She also shares with readers details of her upcoming projects, which includes a continuation of the Big Stone Gap series and film adaptations of her previous novels.
Bookreporter.com: Was the idea of a decorator as a protagonist in ROCOCO percolating around inside of you for a while, or was Bartolomeo di Crespo a sudden inspiration?
Adriana Trigiani: All the central ideas behind all my novels have been percolating for YEARS. Decorating has been a longtime passion. I think about things for a long time before I write a word. Sudden inspiration works when I'm shopping, but not when I'm writing. It's really a process that every writer invents anew; there's no manual. I always think of my grandmother Lucia Bonicelli --- a seamstress --- who used to say, "No one has to see how many times you rip the hem out." There's a lot of ripping going on over here before a book is published. I write and rewrite and rewrite. Bartolomeo sprung from hanging around design houses and designers; my dad's cousin Ralph is an interior designer and certainly a first hand influence. Living in New York City, I meet lots of artists, and they really taught me about color and form. Then it all comes together and some character is born. In this case, Bartolomeo.
BRC: How different is it for you to write a male protagonist instead of your usual female lead characters?
AT: Writing a male protagonist really wasn't different from writing a woman. I don't think of that when I'm writing; I'm in an imaginary world where anything is possible.
BRC: After reading your books does your extended family eye you like you are taking notes for future books when you get together?
AT: My family is really great about what I do, and so are my friends. I take liberally from them --- and in exchange, I make them spaghetti.
BRC: Tell us about the names of the characters you write in this book. Do you keep names like Zetta Montagna, Oreste Castellucci and Father Porporino, tucked away for when you have the right characters for them, or do you name them as you go along?
AT: I love that you asked me about the names. I am a NAME NUT. I have named many babies; I give lists when my girlfriends are pregnant. I did something funny with ROCOCO though. I was at a book club of Italian Americans on Long Island for THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME, and after we ate and talked, I got out a notebook and said, "Okay, gather round." And then I asked the group, "Who was your first love?" "Who is the one that got away?" "Who is your godmother?" "Who did your family accounting?" And so on. And they started naming names --- and that's where some of them came from in ROCOCO. Names are musical, so I try to pick ones that conjure the character. I don't think I can beat Capri Mandelbaum. Oreste Castellucci was my dad's army buddy. So you see, I get them from everywhere.
BRC: In ROCOCO, you write about decorating with great accuracy and authenticity. I could feel the fabrics and see the colors as I read. And yes, you inspired me to want to do some painting and decorating with sumptuous fabric. Did you study architecture and design, or did you learn what you write about from your research?
AT: I never officially studied design. But I have learned that research, reading, and passion really add up to some knowledge. I'm always learning. Good design ideas come from everywhere --- and so do bad ones. Ever stay in a hotel where the bathroom door opens into the closet? I hate that! Bad design. I'm not afraid to ask a lot of questions. Mario Buatta, The Prince of Chintz, who appeared on the Today Show with me, barely made it out of the showroom without a grilling. I learned a lot from him in a couple of hours. I plan to go back and sponge more! He's a delight...and brilliant.
BRC: So, do you love to decorate yourself or do you hire a B?
AT: I love to decorate myself and I love to use designers. I love experts!
BRC: Do you have a favorite piece in your own home? What can you tell us about it?
AT: I love everything that I have. Isn't that nuts? I learned that you shouldn't have anything in your house that you don't like --- not even a teacup! Everything should be beautiful; and useful and inspirational. My sister Antonia has a company called SMARTSPACE. She comes into your home and organizes it with design and practical elements, and she told me: "You only need one thing to remember someone by." Aunt Edna will be happy you kept an embroidered throw pillow --- you really don't need her entire dining room suite.
BRC: Clearly you appreciate the grandness of great churches and how their architecture gives them personality. Were there specific churches that you studied during your research?
AT: I love churches. All of them. I love the simple lines of Saint Joseph's in Greenwich Village (the only one I've seen with a crystal chandelier). As Catholic Churches go, Saint Joe's has a Protestant meeting house feel. In Italy, I still remember the tiny chapel on Lake Como --- loaded with frescoes --- but so small, it was like a dollhouse. I like grand, and I like simple. And l love the art: the altars, the statues, the pews. I remember my father holding me when I was little and looking all around in church. I loved the lights, the windows, and the golden glow of it all. Love that incense too.
BRC: You have captured so much of the atmosphere of "being down the shore," which anyone from New Jersey surely will recognize. Did you spend time at the Jersey shore growing up?
AT: I have wonderful pictures of my grandparents taking us to Atlantic City. I loved the carnival rides, the boardwalk, the sand --- the excitement. I knew I'd someday set a story on the shores of New Jersey.
BRC: I know you have a lot going on right now with film work, as well as your novels. Can you give our readers some insight into what is going on now?
AT: Oh the movies! Big Stone Gap is in pre-production. We have a script we love and wonderful producers in Susan Cartsonis and Lou Pitt. LUCIA, LUCIA is in great hands with producer Julie Durk, who is setting it up as I write this. And ROCOCO --- we have a lot of ideas about it, and are talking now. Larry Sanitsky is producing a Lifetime television series about moms in Greenwich Village who meet at pre-school where their kids are friends. It's from the point of view of a novelist (she's Italian American!) I wrote it and we're working on it now.
BRC: We heard that your next book will be a return to Stone Gap. What can you tell us about this and what inspired you to do this now?
AT: Yes, in the fall of 2006 I'm giving my beloved readers, who make my work life joyous and possible, a treat. CHRISTMAS IN BIG STONE GAP picks up where MILK GLASS MOON left off. I am having a ball with the story; I am as curious as my readers to find out what happened to Ave Maria, Jack, Fleeta and Iva Lou --- can't wait to see what happens to Etta. I promise it will be full and fun! And there really is nothing else like Christmas in Big Stone Gap, hence the title.
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PAST INTERVIEW
 July 15, 2004
Lourdes Orive and Carol Fitzgerald of Bookreporter.com talk with Adriana Trigiani about her inspiration for her latest work, THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME, as well as the challenges and rewards of converting her novels into screenplays. Trigiani also discusses her love for cooking and the joy she experiences when speaking with book clubs --- even when members somehow forget she's there!
BRC: What was your inspiration for THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME?
AT: My inspiration was memories of my grandmother Viola's farm girl days, my father's memories of his childhood and a story I heard about a priest in Italy.
BRC: There is a great story about how you came up with the priest character. Can you share it with our readers?
AT: Sure. My great uncle is a priest/journalist in the town of Schilpario --- his name is Don Andrea Spada. We went to visit him in the spring of 2003 and there met a young, handsome priest who inspired a storyline in THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME. Evidently, he was a typical young man before he got "the calling"; he lived a full life of partying and fun before turning to the church. I thought that was interesting.
BRC: The setting of Roseto, Pennsylvania plays an important role in the story. When was the last time you were in Roseto? What can you tell us about that town today?
AT: I visit Roseto frequently as my father is buried there --- I find that so deep; he is buried in the same place he was born. He loved his hometown and was born in a house on Dewey Street. I always saw the town as enchanted. Today Roseto is as it was, though natives will tell you it has changed greatly --- I still find it warm and inviting.
BRC: For a story that begins in the 1920s, your main character Nella has fairly postmodern ideas about religion. How do you feel she develops spiritually over the course of the book?
AT: I found out, and of course through my friendship with my late grandmothers, that the 1920s were a wild and carefree time. Women worked, made their own money, and many went to college. I was intrigued by this, in light of the 1950s when lots of us were sent back to the kitchen in frilly aprons. I like independent women --- and am one. I always felt I had to make my way and make my own living --- I certainly got this from my grandmothers. This is true feminism --- being able to take care of yourself --- and then upon finding and falling in love with a good person of character, merging those values. I like that.
BRC: How hard is it for you to write the emotional parts of the book? Did you cry as much writing them as we did reading them?
AT: I cry when I write emotional stuff --- and it turns out when I cry, you cry, which is why I love writing. It's a way to communicate and explore together, reader to subject. What a wonder that is to me!
BRC: Nella Castelluca is such a great name. Do you enjoy developing character names? Can you write them before you name them?
AT: I love writing character names! I've been writing down names since I was a kid. And of course, back then, my friends thought it was to name babies --- but I was naming characters!
BRC: What has reader reaction been to THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME so far? What resonates with readers the most?
AT: Well, I've just started my book tour and the response is overwhelming --- big crowds --- and I'm there well after midnight because I must talk to everyone, which I love doing. So the response has been very dear and heartfelt.
BRC: Why do you think that non-Italians relate to your books, as well as Italians?
AT: For some reason, deep in our hearts, we are all somehow a little Italian. So we love reading about Italians. But maybe it's the themes of love, family and career that reach the readers. I see lots of mothers and daughters reading together at my signings. That brings me great joy, as I have a little girl and want to be that way when she's a teenager!
BRC: You have written the screenplay for the movie version of Big Stone Gap, which you also will direct. Is there a production timetable on this?
AT: We are hard at work on the final polish of the screenplay and hope to be in production in the coming months!
BRC: What about the film adaptation for LUCIA, LUCIA? Any timetable for that?
AT: I wrote the screenplay for LUCIA LUCIA. Julie Durk of Deep River productions is hard at work choosing a director.
BRC: What was it like writing the LUCIA, LUCIA script after writing the book. Did you have to leave a ton out to tell the story for film?
AT: A screenplay is entirely different from novel writing. It has to tell a story with sweep, it must be concise and clear, and the action is dramatized, not written. It's showing, not telling, and it's difficult. But it's also thrilling to reinterpret a novel into an active screenplay to be played and not read, which is very challenging. I love the form, as I come from the theatre and have written screenplays and television comedy.
BRC: This fall you have a cookbook coming out in October, COOKING WITH MY SISTERS, a cookbook written with your sister Mary Yolanda along with your other sisters --- Lucia Anna, Antonia and Francesca --- and your mom, Ida. What was the inspiration for this book? What will readers see here?
AT: I got a lot of mail about the recipes in my novels, so Gina Centrello, the president of Random House, asked if I would write a cookbook. I was very excited, but only if I could do it with my sisters. So my sister Mary Yolanda, a terrific writer, led the team and now we have a book! Some of the recipes are over 100 years old and have been handed down from our grandmothers. You get the classics; pasta, sweet breads and fabulous desserts!
BRC: Is there a sneak-peek recipe from your family that you can share with us?
AT: Sure.
Mama's Pasta Fazool (Pasta e Fagioli)
Serves 8
- 3 cups cannellini (white kidney) beans
- 10 cups water
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- 4 cups cooked pasta (broken pieces of large noodles or a small noodle such as orecchiette)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
In a large saucepan, combine the beans, water, salt, oil, onion, and parsley. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the beans are tender.
Add the pasta and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with cheese.
BRC: We confess that we do not see Adriana Trigiani being a "calling for takeout" kind of woman. We see you mixing up the meatballs and stirring the gravy. Tell us about you and cooking. Do you like to cook? Do you use cookbooks? And seriously, what's Trigiani takeout like? Everyone has to dial out when there's a big deadline, right?
AT: I love to cook, but for crying out loud, I live in New York in Greenwich Village. I can order in the best stuff, but I'm determined to eat homemade food with my daughter and husband, so we cook a lot. But Lucia (my daughter) loves when the doorbell rings and it's the delivery person from Charlie Mom's Chinese!
BRC: You enjoy talking to book clubs. If a book club would like to talk to you by phone, what should they do?
AT: I love talking to book clubs. All they have to do is email my assistant, Karen Fink, at adrianaasst@aol.com or bigcherryholler@aol.com and we'll set it up. I love it!
BRC: Why do you like talking to book clubs? Can you share with us a favorite story?
AT: I love talking to book clubs. My favorite was in Florida and the girls had been having cocktails and forgot I was on the phone. I heard them talking and laughing by the pool while I called to them from the speakerphone in the living room. Hilarious, especially when I got an email the next day and the girls said it was the best book club they ever had! Must have been the vodka!
BRC: To us, YOU are the Queen of the Big Time right now with all you have going on. What are you working on now? And when can readers expect to see it?
AT: Besides the movies, my new novel for next summer is a laugh riot; after THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME, I wanted to give you nonstop laughs. It's called ROCOCO and it's about home decorating for starters, but of course it's about love and faith and renewal --- of fabrics and broken hearts!
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